Story Highlights

VENICE BEACH, Calif. — There are over 900,000 apps available in the iTunes App Store, with over 50 billion sold in 5 years. But what are the most downloaded Apple apps ever?

The vast majority of downloads are free ones, and here's Apple's ranking (without specific sales numbers, which the company declined to provide) of the top ten.

1. Facebook. The largest social network, with over 1 billion members, was one of the first 500 apps available on Apple's iTunes App store when it launched on July 10, 2008. And it was a very popular pick here when we asked folks to name the first app they ever downloaded. Brenna Hausen of Los Angeles says having Facebook on her phone made it easier to connect to people — she didn't need to look up their phone numbers. Facebook on mobile is such a big presence in her life, "I don't even use a computer anymore."

2. Pandora Radio. The personalized radio service was also included in the collection of 500 apps at launch day, and revived the fortunes of the then-struggling music service. Now, some 79% of Pandora's listening comes from mobile devices.

3. Instagram. The photo app — used to take old fashioned looking square photos that get prettied up with filters — launched in 2010, and quickly became an iPhone must-have. Facebook bought the company in 2012 for $1 billion.

4. YouTube. Before there were apps, the iPhone had nine pre-loaded icons, including YouTube, Google Maps and Apple's camera. Apple ditched YouTube from the iPhone and it's iOS operating system in late 2012, but excessive downloaders went to the App Store to get it back. It's the number one place where young people hear music today.

5. Skype. The communications app is the most popular way for folks to make free video calls and texts on their iPhone without having to pay huge international roaming fees. They can talk from Skype to Skype, via Wi-Fi. "I use it as a phone to call family back home," says Sandra Dibsy of Los Angeles.

6. Words with Friends. The Zynga word game was a huge sensation (actor Alec Baldwin liked it so much he got kicked off a plane because he refused to turn off the app). Zynga says over 20 million play the game. "I used to play it all the time," says Danielle D'Costa of Sydney, Australia. "But the novelty wore off."

7. The Weather Channel. The weather icon on the iPhone has always featured data from the Weather Channel, but for a more detailed look at the coming forecasts, folks reach for TWC's popular app as well.

8. Twitter. With the Twitter app, folks can keep up with their Twitter contacts, and spend even more time tweeting.

9. Temple Run. Run through a temple without getting killed. That's the object, and millions of folks jumped on. "It's fun," says Jasmine Chi, of Pasadena, Calif. "It also gets frustrating after awhile, because it never ends."

10. Google Search. The all-in-one tool from Google offers both search, access to Google apps and translation tools. The app "is much faster and efficient" than using the Web version via Safari says Felicia Chi, Jasmine's mom. "I don't have to wait."